ANA Ad Ruffles Foreign Feathers

Japan’s largest airline is pulling a new commercial after non-Japanese customers complained about the ad’s depiction of foreigners.

The half-minute advert stars two Japanese men talking excitedly in English about an increase in All Nippon Airways Co. international flights out of Tokyo’s Haneda airport.

One of the two men says that they should “change the image of Japanese people.” Then the camera shows the second man again, now wearing an exaggerated fake nose and blonde wig, apparently representing a non-Japanese Caucasian.

The carrier’s official English Facebook page received a slew of comments both defending and berating the commercial after it first aired on Saturday.

“Your latest ad was so racist, I had to laugh. Seriously, a whiteboy nose and blonde wig to ‘change Japanese people’s image?!’” wrote a Facebook user on ANA’s Facebook page on Saturday.

An ANA representative said the company would take customer’s opinions into account when crafting a second version of the ad.

“With the increase in flights at Haneda, we originally intended to make a commercial encouraging Japanese to go abroad more and more,” she told JRT. “But based on the feedback we have gotten from customers, we weren’t able to get that message across, so we are taking the matter seriously and suspending the airing of the commercial.”

The negative comments have focused on the ad’s portrayal of non-Japanese, however, the commercial also pokes fun at Japanese customs. The character who ends up wearing the fake nose and wig falls silent after his friend asks whether he wants a hug. “Such a Japanese reaction,” his friend says accusingly.

Compared with some Western countries where hugs or kissing are a part of normal greetings between friends, Japanese greetings do not often include physical interaction.

Since Narita International Airport was completed to serve the Tokyo area in 1978, Haneda was used primarily as a domestic hub. Since a 2010 expansion, however, air carriers have increased their international flights out of Haneda.

About Japan Real Time

Japan Real Time is a newsy, concise guide to what works, what doesn’t and why in the one-time poster child for Asian development, as it struggles to keep pace with faster-growing neighbors while competing with Europe for Michelin-rated restaurants. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, the site provides an inside track on business, politics and lifestyle in Japan as it comes to terms with being overtaken by China as the world’s second-biggest economy. You can contact the editors at japanrealtime@wsj.com